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Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck

You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller

Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss

"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."

"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown

I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein

The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step

Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale

Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather

The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.

Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance

"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Vacation bloopers

Now that we are home - I thought it would be fun to share some things that always happen when the Pletchers go on vacation.

We didn't have too many - which was kind of shocking - but we had a few.

The first night in our London apartment - Arlington pulled the curtain rod down when she slipped getting into the shower. She grabbed for the shower curtain and the whole thing came crashing down. Luckily we were able to repair it.

Cainan and I got lost in Notting Hill. We were looking at a store while Mat and the girls went off to buy something. I started after him to see if I could catch up with him, but somehow we lost each other and spent a good 20 minutes before I located them. That is what happens when you only have one working cell phone internationally folks.

Cainan thew up on the car ride from the London apartment to the train station before we left for Paris. It was a really bumpy car ride with lots of stopping and starting, so we should have known it was coming. I gave him something for car sickness before we left, but it didn't work. Not only did he throw up all over himself, he threw up all over the car seats. Luckily I had a roll of toilet paper in the suit case, and I was able to clean him up (and the seat) fairly well and we had our luggage, so I was able to change him. But it was crazy. We gave the driver 30 extra Pounds for his troubles.

Cainan broke a glass at one of the restaurants. Apparently, they don't believe in plastic wear here in Europe for kids. We always had either wine glasses or regular glasses, and he just bumped one and off it went. He started to cry and the waiter brought him a bowl of ice cream to make him feel better, but we left a big tip because of it. It hit the cobble stone ground and just shattered.

Cainan spilled a glass of orange juice all over the table and himself. (poor Cainan he is getting a bad rap here - and he is the good one!) It was an accident - he was reaching across to get a fork and over it went.

Our bank card never did work. We have two (thank goodness) different banks, and one was fine, but our long term bank - NOPE. I had set it up before we left, talked to them about being gone overseas, got everything we needed......except the new pin number. We assumed it would be the SAME pin number we have always had - for the 10 years we have had the card - but NOOOOOOO......new card, new pin. Sigh. And when we CALLED them to find out what it was - they couldn't tell us over the phone - it could only come by mail. Super helpful when we are.......um.......OUT of town. Luckily we had our other bank card AND we had taken out money before we left the US - so we were fine. But what a pain.

Mat and I got separated in the subway station in Paris. One of his subway passes had been giving him some trouble, and he couldn't get through. So he had to go and find another entrance to buy a new ticket. He told us to meet him and what I heard was "on the platform". We had to exit and re-enter, but we ended up on a different platform. It wasn't a big deal - I knew where we were going - but he wasn't there. So we assumed he had gone back to the apartment thinking that is what we had done - so we got on the subway and went home. Nope - he wasn't there. He was still searching for us back where we got on! Poor guy was frantic. But I never saw him - it was really crowded. But all was well, and I was pretty proud that I got myself and the three kids back to the apartment alone.

Arlington got a big scratch on her head when she walked into a sign she didn't see.

I got a huge bruise and bump on my forehead when I hit myself with the camera taking it off from around my neck one of the days. We were hurrying and it just wacked me right in the head. Still hurts today and it happened probably 5 days ago.

Finley got stuck in countless bathrooms. She had a hard time figuring out the locks, and I would spend several minutes on the other side talking her through it. After awhile, I started just going in with her because I couldn't take it any more.

Finley closed the handle of her little rolling suitcase right on her arm and pinched her skin and it left a mark. That wasn't pretty.

I actually think that is it! Not bad for us. We didn't lose any kids, we didn't lose any luggage or important papers, and my green binder was GENIUS. Genius, people. :)

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We are a family of 5 living in Massachusetts. Mat and I have been married for 16 years, and we have three children. Arlington is 11 years old, and Finley and Cainan are 8 years old. We adopted Cainan from China when he was 14 months old. He was born with cleft lip and palate level three. This blog started out as our journey to bring him into our family and has turned into our family blog. He and Finley are only 30 days apart!! We love being a blended family, and enjoy sharing about our trials and tribulations through becoming one! Also, our daughter Finley was diagnosed in 2009 with Lebers Congenital Amaurosis (LCA) a rare genetic eye condition that has made her legally blind. Come and read about our proud family!If you want to read Cainan's story, click here:The Pletcher Five Journey Blessings Times Three: Cainan's Story